Peer Preference Research Articles

The formation of social groups under status concern

I study the interaction of two forces in the formation of social groups: the preference for high quality peers and the desire for status among one's peers. I examine their equilibrium effects under different market structures and find that status concern reduces the potential for and benefit of sorting - both for a social planner and a monopolist - but the interaction between preference for quality and status can make the exclusion of some agents a second-best outcome. Even in settings with complementarities, price discrimination and screening can be necessary to facilitate sorting and increase welfare. Nevertheless, positional concerns can be beneficial for welfare if they provide sufficient incentive to engage more with one's group and thus increase positive spillovers. In those cases, welfare is higher if individuals have at least some degree of status concern, even if the welfare measure ignores such relative comparisons.

Children's social preference for peers engaged in brilliance-required activities: The impact of gender and race.

Women's underrepresentation in academic fields and professions emphasizing high intellectual talents persists as a prominent societal issue. To explore early antecedents of this gender imbalance, the present study investigated the developmental changes in children's social preference of boys and girls who pursue brilliance-required (vs. effort-required) activities. Importantly, we took an intersectional perspective to explore whether children consider target race in their social preference. Five- to 9-year-old U.S. children (N = 207; Mage = 7.53; 104 girls and 103 boys; 48% White) were presented with pairs of Asian, Black, and White characters matched in gender. One character was depicted as enjoying a game requiring high intellectual talents and the other enjoyed a game requiring effort. Participants were then asked to choose the character that they liked more, as an indicator of their social preference. With age, children became increasingly likely to prefer White boys and girls of color (i.e., Black and Asian girls) pursuing activities requiring brilliance (vs. activities requiring effort). In contrast, children did not develop increasing social preference for White girls or boys of color who opt in for brilliance-required activities. Our data suggest that, as early as elementary school years, children's social preference in contexts valuing sheer brilliance becomes both gendered and racialized. These findings highlight the importance of using an intersectional approach to identify the specific developmental processes that contribute to social disparities in brilliance-required contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Supplemental Material for Children’s Social Preference for Peers Engaged in Brilliance-Required Activities: The Impact of Gender and Race

Supplemental Material for Children’s Social Preference for Peers Engaged in Brilliance-Required Activities: The Impact of Gender and Race

The Sexual Double Standard and Adolescent Stigma: A Sociometric and Comparative Approach

ABSTRACT This study applied a sociometric approach to examine the traditional sexual double standard within a sample of Dutch adolescents (N = 1,175; 53.8% females; M age = 14.75). Drawing on script theory and the key concept of social stigma, this study examined associations between self-reported sexual partnerships and three measures of peer preference: (1) received friendship nominations, (2) peer dislike nominations, and (3) perceived popularity. Results from ordinary least squares regressions support the traditional double standard, indicating that girls who report a higher number of self-reported sexual partners receive fewer friendships and more peer dislike nominations than boys reporting similar numbers of sexual partners. Sexual partnerships are positively associated with boys’ and girls’ perceived popularity. Using sociometric measures of peer stigma, we found evidence of a traditional sexual double standard in an adolescent sample from a liberal and gender egalitarian Western democracy, while also pointing to the potential status rewards associated with adolescent sexual behavior.

Investigating the effects of prenatal testosterone exposure (via 2D:4D) and socio-relational factors on 3–6-year-old preschoolers' prosocial choices

Background and aimsProsocial behavior such as helping and sharing develops early in childhood. Yet very few studies have investigated physiological and relational factors shaping prosociality among children. Here, we systematically examined the role of prenatal androgen exposure alongside prestige, dominance, and friendship in 3–6-year-old preschoolers' prosocial sharing with familiar peers. MethodsWe tested a sample of 65 children, predominately of European descent. We used a cost-free direct-interaction prosocial choice task to assess children's prosocial tendencies. Second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) was used as a retrospective biomarker for prenatal androgen exposure. Prestige was measured through behavioral observations of interaction partners and visual regard, dominance through teacher questionnaires, and friendship via peer preference assessments. ResultsWe found that children acted prosocially when tested with a familiar peer. Children with lower 2D:4D (higher prenatal androgen exposure) behaved more prosocially. Further, there were marginal associations between the donors' prosocial tendencies and their visual regard as a proxy of their prestige (positive effect) and their teacher-rated dominance relative to the recipient (negative effect). Neither age, sex, nor friendship influenced prosocial choices. ConclusionsPrenatal androgen exposure, approximated via 2D:4D, was associated with prosocial behavior. In contrast to previous research in older children, higher exposure was related to stronger prosocial tendencies, which corresponds to earlier findings on fairness in adults. Our findings point towards a potential role of sex steroids in the early development of children's social behavior, but they have to be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size of the current study. Nevertheless, they underscore the importance of integrating biological and psychological perspectives, while also highlighting the significance of studying the development of prosocial behavior within peer groups.

What do measures of gender identity tell us about gender identity over time?

Gender identity is a multifaceted concept and is represented by a wide range of measures and constructs including both self-report and researcher observations of preferences and behaviours. However, despite their similar theoretical underpinning, gender identity measures are rarely found to correlate with one another, and contrasting patterns and trajectories are often found for each construct (Egan & Perry, Developmental Psychology, 37, 2001, 451). Therefore, this systematic review aimed to present a review of the longitudinal research evidence surrounding gender identity development in the absence of formal intervention. Using a systematic search strategy, 21 studies were identified. Narrative synthesis was used to synthesize the data collected in these studies and trajectories were explored for (1) self-identification measures of gender identity, (2) clothing preferences, (3) peer preferences, and (4) object/activity preferences. Overall, the results of this systematic review are consistent with wider research suggesting that distinct developmental patterns can be observed when using different constructs and measures of gender identity.

The role of affiliation in the development of collaborative partner choice.

Collaboration is an early emerging component of successful cooperative relations that produces a cascade of positive social preferences between collaborators. Concurrently, robust preferences for affiliated others may restrict these benefits to in-group peers. We investigated how in-group affiliation (based on minimal group markers) and interpersonal affiliation (based on shared preferences) influence children's collaborative partner choice. We asked whether children prefer to collaborate with affiliated peers and if highlighting interpersonal affiliation with out-group members reduce in-group bias in partner choice. In Study 1, we assigned children (4-9 years, N = 124, 62 female, two nonbinary) to either a group or interpersonal affiliation condition and gave them a choice of collaborating with either an affiliated (in-group or same preference) or unaffiliated (out-group or different preference) peer. While children preferred affiliated peers in both conditions, interpersonal affiliation had a greater influence than group affiliation on collaborative partner choice among younger participants. With age, the difference between children's preference for affiliated peers in the interpersonal and group affiliation condition declined until they were similar in middle childhood. In Study 2, we assessed whether shared preferences would override in-group bias when these factors were directly contrasted. Children (4-9 years, N = 62, 33 female) chose between an in-group/different preference or out-group/same preferences peer. Younger children preferred the out-group/same preference peer, a preference that diminished with age to chance levels in middle childhood. These findings suggest that affiliation is an important determinant of collaborative partner choice and that shared preferences can override in-group bias in children's collaborative partner choice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-Regulation Skills and Peer Preferences in Preschool Children

The main purpose of this study is to detect the predictive impact of self-regulation skills on peer relationships in preschool children. The participants consisted of 165 children of Turkish extraction (between the ages of 5-6). 81 of them were girls and 84 were boys. Self-Regulation Skills Scale for Children aged 4-6 (Teacher Form) and sociometry technique based on peer nomination were utilized. The study results asserted that young children’s self-regulation variables (inhibitory control, attention, working memory) influenced their levels of being positively and significantly liked by peers. Moreover, young children’s self-regulation variables (inhibitory control, attention, working memory) affected their levels of being negatively and significantly disliked by peers. Also, inhibitory control, attention, and working memory significantly predicted the levels of social preference.

The development of self- and group orientations among Chinese young adolescents: Implications for social and behavioral adjustment.

Self- and group orientations represent distinct ways of perceiving the relations between the world and the self and are relevant to adolescents' development. Most of the existing studies in this area are cross-sectional, providing little information about how self- and group orientations develop. This 3-year longitudinal study examined the developmental patterns of self- and group orientations and their relations with adjustment among Chinese adolescents. The participants included 1,257 students (648 boys, initial Mage = 13.37 years, SD = 0.63 years). Data on self- and group orientations and social and behavioral adjustment were obtained from multiple sources, including self-reports, peer nominations, and teacher ratings. The results showed that self-orientation increased, and group orientation decreased during early adolescence. Moreover, an increase (slope) in self-orientation was positively associated with subsequent assertive behavior, whereas a slower decrease in group orientation was positively associated with subsequent prosocial behavior and peer preference. The initial level (intercept) of self-orientation was positively associated with later externalizing problems, and the initial level of group orientation was negatively associated with later internalizing problems. The intercepts of self- and group orientations were higher for boys than girls. No significant gender differences were found in the slopes of self- and group orientations or in the associations of intercepts and slopes with adjustment outcomes. The results indicated different developmental patterns of self- and group orientations and their different implications for adjustment in Chinese adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Понимание коммуникативных намерений говорящего и популярность в кругу сверстников у детей младшего школьного возраста

<p>The aim of this study was to explore the role of the theory of mind – the ability to attribute mental states to other people in order to explain their behavior – in popularity with peers and in the social competence of children of primary school age. The participants were 92 children aged 9–12 years (M=9,97; SD=0,80; 47 girls). We used the F. Happé “Strange Stories” test, used to study children's understanding of the speaker's communicative intentions in situations of ambiguously understood social interactions, to assess theory of mind. The popularity of children in the group was studied using a sociometric method. For an external evaluation teachers assessed the social behavior of children and adolescents using a specially designed questionnaire. The results obtained testify to the relationship of children’s theory of mind with both their popularity with peers, and with their social competence as a whole. The understanding of communicative intentions in difficult social situations by children is related with both peer preference for socializing and perceived popularity among peers. An external assessment of social competence among primary school age children by teachers has shown that children who are more successful in understanding the communicative intentions of other people are rated by adults as more popular among their peers, while the less successful ones are those who more often become the object of ridicule and often fall under the negative influence of others.</p>

Preference for native-accented peers in monolingual and bilingual children acquiring Czech

ABSTRACT The way a talker speaks influences how they are socially perceived. Social preferences based on language are present already in early childhood: children generally prefer to interact with those who speak the child's native language or native accent. Prior findings are inconclusive as to whether the accent-based social biases could be reduced by more varied language experience, including bilingual upbringing. This study reports a friendship-choice task administered to 49 5- to 6-year-old children acquiring Czech (26 monolinguals and 23 bilinguals). The results showed that both monolingual and bilingual children had a preference for native-accented peers. In bilingual children, however, this native-speaker preference was reliably smaller than in monolingual children. These findings demonstrate that foreign accent is a strong cue for friendship choice even in the linguistically homogeneous, Czech-speaking society, and that the effect of foreign accent is attenuated by a child's bilingual language experience.

Homophilic social networks and school adjustment among primary school pupils: Results and implications from a Zimbabwean study

Social network patterns were explored among Zimbabwean rural school pupils to determine their peer preferences and statuses. Participants were 173 school pupils attending grades 4–6 in a rural school in Zimbabwe (76 boys; 97 girls; age range 9 years to 12 years). The pupils completed a peer social statuses nomination measure, and a subsample of them participated in a brief interview to elaborate on their nominations. In addition, documents held by the school were analysed for context. Descriptive analysis of the data yielded four peer social statuses of popular (40%), accepted (30%), rejected (10%), and neglected (20%). Reasons for popularity included being good-mannered and possessing good socialising habits, as well as being outstanding in class. Boys who held positions of authority like class monitor and shared readily were popular. Girls’ social statuses were explained by good socialising habits and sharing available resources with others. Boys’ key popularity attributes were mathematical skills, as they would help the less able in class. Popular girls were also good at mathematics and socialising. The findings validate the view that social networking is significant to the prediction of social well-being among middle primary school pupils, and important for the children’s school engagement, or overall school adjustment.

Relations between Prosociality and Psychological Maladjustment in Chinese Elementary and Secondary School Students: Mediating Roles of Peer Preference and Self-Perceived Social Competence.

Despite empirical findings that prosociality can prevent elementary and secondary school students from developing psychological maladjustment, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. The goal of the present study was to examine the mediating effects of peer preference and self-perceived social competence on the associations between prosociality and psychological maladjustment (i.e., depressive symptoms and loneliness). Participants were 951 students (Mage = 11 years, 442 girls) in Grades 3~7 from Shanghai, China. They completed peer nominations of prosociality and peer preference and self-report measures of self-perceived social competence, depressive symptoms, and loneliness. Multiple mediation analyses revealed that: (a) both peer preference and self-perceived social competence mediated the relations between prosociality and psychological maladjustment, and (b) a serial indirect pathway (i.e., prosociality → peer preference → self-perceived social competence → psychological maladjustment) emerged when controlling for age group and gender. These findings point to potential targets in the prevention and intervention of Chinese students' internalization of problems.

Driving Factors Influencing The Women's Preference and Decision-Making For Non-Medically Indicated Caesarean Section

Background:Caesarean section has become an emerging issue and catching attention worldwide. Shared decision-making among families and individuals has become a fashion and the main reason for women's preference for caesarean section. There are many societal factors that play an important role in unnecessary caesarean sections. Objective: To evaluate the driving factors influencing the women's preference and decision-making for caesarean section at the mother's request. Material and method: Qualitative research design used in this study via face-to-face in-depth interviews in a public-sector Faisalabad. IDI was conducted at the convenient time of the participant at the time of their antenatal visits. The interview's time was 30 to 40 minutes. The study's participants were pregnant women. A purposive sampling method was used. Data analysis was done on Nviovo software. Results: After transcribing the data, codes were made which leads to the basic themes with their sub-themes. The themes which were the influencing factors in women's preference and shared decision-making towards caesarean section were: child and maternal health, peer pressure (husband/mother-in-law/society influence), financial influence and hospital management (shortage of staff). Conclusion: The percentage of non-indicated caesarean sections has drastically increased day by day in the last ten years. There should be introduced some strategies for the education of women about pro cons and indications or non-indication for caesarean section.Patients' and peer preferences should be deliberated with healthcare practitioners. Healthcare staff should explain the indications of caesarean section at the time of antenatal.

Toy stories: Children's use of gender stereotypes in making social judgments

Young children tend to categorize people and objects to understand their environments, but under certain circumstances, they can also appreciate individual differences. Three studies investigated how young children use categorical and individuating information to make social judgments. In Study 1, 3- to 5-year-old children (N = 33; 18 boys, 15 girls) predicted hypothetical peers' preferences for toys along a spectrum from highly stereotyped for girls to neutral to highly stereotyped for boys. Hypothetical peers were described by gender and as enjoying activities that were stereotypical, counter-stereotypical, or unrelated to gender. Children's choices were consistent with use of the provided individuating information rather than gender alone. In Studies 2 and 3, we retested these ideas with preschool samples from the United States (N = 44) and China (N = 21) respectively and also asked children about their toy, playmate, and activity preferences. For both samples, responses followed the same pattern as Study 1 for social judgments and were characterized by preferences for same-gender peers and neutral or gender-typed toys and activities, particularly in girls. While young children express preferences consistent with gender identity, they process and use individuating information in making social judgments, a capacity that could be targeted by interventions designed to reduce the development of gender-based bias.

Predicting change in neural activity during social exclusion in late childhood: The role of past peer experiences

ABSTRACT A painful experience affecting many children is social exclusion. The current study is a follow-up study, investigating change in neural activity during social exclusion as a function of peer preference. Peer preference was defined as the degree to which children are preferred by their peers and measured using peer nominations in class during four consecutive years for 34 boys. Neural activity was assessed twice with a one-year interval, using functional MRI during Cyberball (MageT1 = 10.3 years, MageT2 = 11.4 years). Results showed that change in neural activity during social exclusion differed as a function of peer preference for the a-priori defined region-of-interest of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (subACC), such that relatively lower history of peer preference was associated with an increase in activity from Time1 to Time2. Exploratory whole brain results showed a positive association between peer preference and neural activity at Time2 in the left and right orbitofrontal gyrus (OFG). These results may suggest that boys with lower peer preference become increasingly sensitive to social exclusion over time, associated with increased activity in the subACC. Moreover, lower peer preference and associated lower activity within the OFG may suggest decreased emotion regulation as a response to social exclusion.

Objective quantification of homophily in children with and without disabilities in naturalistic contexts

Homophily, the tendency for individuals to preferentially interact with others similar to themselves is typically documented via self-report and, for children, adult report. Few studies have investigated homophily directly using objective measures of social movement. We quantified homophily in children with developmental disabilities (DD) and typical development (TD) using objective measures of position/orientation in preschool inclusion classrooms, designed to promote interaction between these groups of children. Objective measurements were collected using ultra-wideband radio-frequency tracking to determine social approach and social contact, measures of social movement and interaction. Observations of 77 preschoolers (47 with DD, and 30 TD) were conducted in eight inclusion classrooms on a total of 26 days. We compared DD and TD groups with respect to how children approached and shared time in social contact with peers using mixed-effects models. Children in concordant dyads (DD-DD and TD-TD) both moved toward each other at higher velocities and spent greater time in social contact than discordant dyads (DD-TD), evidencing homophily. DD-DD dyads spent less time in social contact than TD-TD dyads but were comparable to TD-TD dyads in their social approach velocities. Children’s preference for similar peers appears to be a pervasive feature of their naturalistic interactions.

Development and Validation of the Adolescent Defending Behaviors Questionnaire Among Chinese Early Adolescents.

This study aimed to clarify the multidimensionality of defending by developing and validating the Adolescent Defending Behaviors Questionnaire (ADBQ) in a sample of Chinese adolescents. Results of Study 1 (N = 824, Mage = 11.25) indicated that a five-factor model, comprising (a) assertive defending, (b) aggressive defending, (c) comforting victims, (d) reporting to authority, and (e) tactical defending, yielded a good fit to the data. Study 2 (N = 1,086, Mage = 11.18) established ADBQ's reliability (α = .78-.93) and construct validity: the five defending dimensions were differentially associated with cognitive and affective empathy, aggression, sociability, peer preference, and victimization. Together, the results suggest that the ADBQ is a psychometrically valid and reliable instrument for assessing the multidimensionality of defending.

Peer preferences and educational decisions: heterogeneous associations across student socioeconomic status

Peers may both promote conformity and discourage ambitious choices when students make educational decisions. Low socioeconomic status (SES) students may be more sensitive to outside influence than high SES students when making educational decisions. Considering the case of choosing between an academic track and a vocational track in Danish post-compulsory education, I test whether low SES students are more prone to conform to peer preference or more likely to be deterred from choosing the more ambitious academic track by more ambitious peers. I test these hypotheses using multilevel models with school fixed effects on survey data from 882 Danish 9th-grade students, with information on track choice and survey measures of normative track preference. I find that higher classroom peer preference for the academic track is associated with higher probability of choosing the academic track, especially for low SES students. Thus, ambitious peers may help compensate for inequality in track choice.

Q-learning-based migration leading to spontaneous emergence of segregation

Understanding population segregation and aggregation is a critical topic in social science. However, the mechanisms behind segregation are not well understood, especially in the context of conflicting profits. Here, in the context of evolutionary game theory, we study segregation by extending the prisoner’s dilemma game to mobile populations. In the extended model, individuals’ types are distinguished by their strategies, which may change adaptively according to their associated payoffs. In addition, individuals’ migration decisions are determined by the Q-learning algorithm. On the one hand, we find that such a simple extension allows the formation of three different types of spontaneous segregation: (a) environmentally selective segregation; (b) exclusionary segregation; and (c) subgroup segregation. On the other hand, adaptive migration enhances network reciprocity and enables the dominance of cooperation in a dense population. The formation of these types of segregation and the enhanced network reciprocity are related to individuals’ peer preference and profit preference. Our findings shed light on the importance of adaptive migration in self-organization processes and contribute to the understanding of segregation formation processes in evolving populations.